Headlines

Germany's top appeals court quashed on Tuesday a lower court's decision to back a settlement by Volkswagen over directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage in the so-called dieselgate case, Reuters reported.

Hobbycraft-owner Modella Capital has bought just over half of U.S.-based jewellery chain Claire's stores in Britain and Ireland, saving around 1,000 jobs, the administrators of the UK and Irish business said on Monday, Reuters reported. Investment company Modella, which bought WH Smith's British high street business for $100 million in June, will buy 156 Claire's stores from administrators Interpath Advisory for an undisclosed amount. The administrators will continue to operate the remaining stores while continuing to assess options for them, Interpath said.

A council took emergency action to safeguard a health and social care service after its previous provider went into liquidation, BBC.com reported. Peterborough City Council, which leads the Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, terminated its contract with Nottingham Rehab Limited (NRS) in July following insolvency issues with the company. The service provides health and social care equipment and some housing adaptations for residents.

In a decision that could have a salutary bearing on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Supreme Court on Friday reversed its eyebrow-raising May 2 verdict, directing liquidation of bankrupt Bhushan Power and Steel Limited, to put back in place the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's Feb 2020 decision to allow Sajjan-Jindal-led JSW Steel revive the failed entity, the Times of India reported.

Consumer prices picked up pace in Spain, further cementing expectations that the European Central Bank will continue to hold off on any further cuts to interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Prices rose 3.0% on year this month in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, according to EU-harmonized figures released Monday. That marks an acceleration from the 2.7% rate registered in August, and hitting the highest level since June last year. Rate setters at the ECB consider an annual rate of 2% to be optimal.

Canada's government is to provide C$400 million ($287.13 million) in financial support for Algoma Steel under its large enterprise tariff relief scheme, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said on Monday, Reuters reported. The company has been one of the large steel enterprises worst hit by the 25% tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump slapped on Canadian imported steel, a duty he later cranked up to 50%.

Germany expects the United States to apply a 15% tariff rate to pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks, a government spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Monday, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new import tariffs last week, including 100% duties on patented drugs and 25% levies on heavy-duty trucks, triggering fresh trade uncertainty.

Donald Trump faces fresh hurdles in his push to secure major investment pledges from Asian allies, after South Korea said Washington’s terms were unrealistic and a contender to lead Japan’s ruling party hinted at the possibility of reviewing the agreement, Bloomberg News reported. “We are not able to pay $350 billion in cash,” South Korea’s National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a Channel A News television interview on Saturday evening, referring to Seoul’s investment pledge with Washington.

The U.S. on Monday cracked down on companies in China and other countries that use subsidiaries or other foreign affiliates to get around curbs on chipmaking equipment and other goods and technology, Reuters reported. The Commerce Department issued a new rule expanding its restricted export list, known as the Entity List, to automatically include subsidiaries owned 50 percent or more by a company on the list, according to a posting in the U.S. Federal Register. The action greatly increases the number of companies that require licenses to receive American goods and services.

Outstanding bank lending in Brazil continued to lose momentum in August, central bank data showed on Monday, as high interest rates helped cool activity in Latin America's largest economy, Reuters reported. Credit growth over the past 12 months slowed to 10.1% in August, down from 10.8% in July. The central bank projected last Thursday that annual loan growth would ease further, ending the year at 8.8%.